Pelicans: 3 teams the Pels could overtake in the Western Conference

New Orleans Pelicans: Overtaking the Memphis Grizzlies won’t be easy

The Pelicans have a nice rivalry with the Grizzlies, one that they have mostly dominated in the one-on-one battles over the last few years, but Memphis got the last laugh, finishing in 8th place last season and making the play-in tournament.

The Grizzlies have had an interesting offseason. They traded Jonas Valanciunas to the Pels for Steven Adams and Eric Bledsoe and then flipped Bledsoe for a load of players that they then flipped for more.

It’s still too early to predict what their final roster will look like but I think they’ve downgraded significantly going from Valanciunas to Adams. I’m also not sure the Pelicans didn’t get the better player in the draft even after moving back seven spots in the trade.

These two teams are going to be near one another in the standings, so winning the head-to-head battles will be crucial for the New Orleans Pelicans.

Both teams have had offseasons that have been questioned, so we’ll have to wait to see how it all turns out, but I don’t think the Grizzlies are markedly better and may be vulnerable to being overtaken by the Pels.